Food is often an afterthought at festivals, taking a back seat to the big headline acts and whatever’s on offer at the bar. But that's not the case with these fun, food-filled events, which are firmly focused on edible delights. From fiestas celebrating culinary traditions to wonderfully specific showcases of ingredients such as avocados and catfish, these are the best food festivals around the USA. Due to COVID-19, it’s best to check state travel advisories and event websites for the latest updates and advice before planning a visit.
This one-day fun festival started in 2016 and takes America’s love of tacos to new levels. Of course, the focus is on those topped tortillas, with a variety of stalls and trucks from taquerias and restaurants across the state serving up their best efforts, including unusual offerings like these cookie tacos (pictured). It also has live music and bars stocked with Mexican beers and craft brews. The next festival will be held in early 2023. Check the event organiser's Facebook page for updates.
Held in May each year, ending on Memorial Day, the Kodiak Crab Festival has been going since 1958. Back then, it was known as the "King Crab Festival" and its purpose was to market the crustacean to the masses. Now, it encompasses all species of crab and is loved as a celebration of the end of winter, with buckets of delicious seafood on offer alongside other treats like the hugely popular Bruin Burgers, made with minced beef and cheese, wrapped in dough and deep fried.
Claiming to be the first-ever taco festival when it launched in 2009, this festival is heaven for taco fans. Arizona Taco Fest happens every November, moving from its usual home in Scottsdale to Mesa in 2022. Over two days, attendees can buy bargain tacos with all kinds of toppings, watch – or even participate in – chilli pepper eating contests, while there's also lucha libre wrestling (free wrestling) and a chihuahua beauty pageant (we love this).
This annual festival celebrates Greek cuisine in all its delicious incarnations, and it is described as the largest ethnic festival in the state. The International Greek Food Festival is typically held over two days in October and has stalls serving pastries and other treats made by people with Greek, Georgian, Armenian, Romanian and Indian heritage, among others. Proceeds go to charities and non-profits, and the festival is a chance to learn about different culinary traditions.
California has many food-themed festivals to reflect its abundance of produce and Morro Bay’s three-day Avocado Margarita Food & Drink Festival is perhaps the most brilliantly specific of them all. It’s been held annually for several years and has been upgraded for the September 2022 festival onwards, with top chefs and mixologists joining the fray. Expect music, fun and lots of avocados and margaritas to try.
First held in 1895, the Taste of Colorado festival was discontinued in 1902 and not restarted until 1983, but now it’s a popular event in Denver. The city’s walkable downtown is transformed during the September weekend, with families and groups of all ages enjoying live music, kids’ entertainment and, of course, plenty of lovely food served up by 50-plus local restaurants and trucks.
Vampires beware – this may not be the food festival for you. Bethlehem’s annual Garlic & Harvest Festival, held over two days in October, celebrates the hero ingredient with a mix of educational, fun and tasty events. There are seminars on garlic, including tips on how to grow your own crops, as well as cooking demonstrations and garlic-infused dishes like pizza, handmade sausages and ice cream to try. There are family-friendly rides, live music and stalls manned by regional garlic farmers too.
The small town of Bridgeville is known for growing apples and making scrapple – scraps of pork meat stewed with cornmeal (coarse flour) and shaped into loaves, which are then sliced and fried. The dish is much tastier than it sounds, which is just as well for those attending the Apple-Scrapple Festival because it really is the main event. For two days each October, people can try scrapple sandwiches and apple fritters while enjoying craft demonstrations, car shows and live music.
Every eatery, from roadside diners to high-end restaurants, has its own spin on creamy and zesty key lime pie and this four-day fiesta pays homage to the citrus dessert. Held in the summer, key lime pie is celebrated in all shapes and sizes, from simple triangles topped with cream to huge wedges that are crowned with meringue, and festivities kick off with an attempt to drop a huge pie to the ground from Key West Lighthouse without damaging it. Expect key lime cocktails, chef-hosted dinners, pie crawls and scavenger hunts.
It turns out that chilli pairs wonderfully with bluegrass music, which is why Atlanta’s annual Chomp & Stomp festival brings them together each November. The one-day event has stalls spooning out bowls of chilli, plus bars and plenty of live bluegrass music. It kicks off with a 5K run (or walk, if you prefer) for those who want to really earn a day of chilli eating, but the highlight is the big cook-off, with both individual and restaurant winners crowed for the best meat-based chilli con carne and the best vegetarian versions.
The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, founded by two top Hawaiian chefs, started as a three-day event in Honolulu and has grown to a culinary and cultural celebration that's held across the state for several weeks, typically from October. It’s all about local and regional ingredients and recipes, with chefs showcasing typical Hawaiian cuisine. Expect upscale chef’s table dinners, street food stalls, wine tastings, cocktails and even a golf tournament.
Mid-June brings four days of celebrations all about cherries. The Emmett Cherry Festival draws people from all over the state and further afield with its fruity harvest and all kinds of food and fun connected to it. It’s been running since the 1930s and its old-fashioned style is part of the charm. Expect activities such as pie eating contests, fancy dress galas, carnival rides and a cherry pit spit – where people compete to spit the stones out the furthest.
The Taste of Chicago festival was established in 1980 to showcase the city’s considerable culinary scene and has become so popular over the years that it's been expanded for the summer 2022 event. It’s now held over three consecutive Saturdays in different neighbourhoods, followed by a three-day event in central Grant Park. There’s all kind of food, from Midwest classics and deep-dish pizzas to edgy cuisine cooked by some of the city’s best chefs. The entertainment is top-notch too, with music from local and national acts.
Pierogi Fest highlights and celebrates Whiting’s Polish heritage, and there's a big focus on popular cuisine potato dumplings. The delicious, filled parcels are served up in a variety of tasty ways and are undoubtedly a huge part of what draws hundreds of thousands of people over three days each July. The festive atmosphere includes live music, traditional dancing across several stages, a pierogi toss and the polka parade.
Established in 1979, West Point’s Sweet Corn Festival is about the most popular street foods, especially those that attract the longest queues at festivals and food markets around the country. There’s no fear of elote (Mexican street corn) or corn on the cob running out here, with several tonnes of corn grilled, smoked or tossed into a variety of delicious dishes. The one-day festival in August coincides with harvest season and includes a themed parade, 5K race, concert, street party and car show.
A festival containing bacon, Bourbon and beer is bound to be popular. Air Capital Bacon, Bourbon & Brews Festival, held in Wichita’s Hartman Arena, brings the three Bs together for one day in July, with heaps of bacon and beer samples included in the ticket price, plus an optional Bourbon tasting upgrade – you get to try five-to-eight on offer. This is strictly over 21s only, so it's a good choice for people who want a more adult – and boozier – event.
If anywhere was going to host a huge celebration of finger lickin’ chicken, it had to be Kentucky’s Laurel County, which is home to Colonel Sanders’ first KFC restaurant. Founded in 1990, the World Chicken Festival stretches over four days in September and is one of the state’s biggest events. Aside from plenty of chicken on offer – much of it fried in the world’s largest stainless-steel skillet – the fun includes rides, music and a Colonel Sanders lookalike contest.
A street party dedicated to a sandwich? This could only happen in New Orleans, a city where food, music and festivities are part of everyday life. The Big Easy has around 130 annual festivals, and the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is a favourite with locals. The po-boy, a sub-style sandwich invented in the city, is the star of the November event, with varieties prepared by top chefs and stuffed with anything from catfish to lobster. Live music completes the experience.
Maine has some fabulous food-fuelled festivals but Maine Lobster Festival is undoubtedly the biggest, focused on the world-renowned regional seafood. Tens of thousands of people come to sample arguably the best lobster found anywhere, with dishes prepared by local chefs, including lobster rolls drenched in melted butter. The festival, held during the first weekend in August, also has live music, the crowning of the Marine Sea Goddess (which is a pageant) and a race over lobster crates (pictured).
A competition to shuck the most oysters (the process of opening the shell to reveal the meat inside) is a highlight of Maryland’s U.S. Oyster Fest, held over the third weekend in October in St. Mary’s County. The National Oyster Sucking Championships (pictured) is part of the entertainment on offer, although there’s also an oyster cook-off, a music pavilion showcasing local performers and scavenger hunts.
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This free festival, held over a weekend in October, is run by the Boston Vegetarian Society and, as the name suggests, is all about plant-based eating. Boston Veg Food Fest is 100% vegan, from the free food samples and dishes on offer to fashion and lifestyle products on sale. It’s a fun event, with kids’ activities, top cooking demonstrations and inspiring speakers.
Traverse City is dubbed the cherry capital of the world, which explains why this is where the National Cherry Festival is held each July. More than half a million people come for the week-long festivities, with events including parades, picnics and pancake breakfasts (with some pretty impressive flipping). The festival, which has been running since 1926, attracts big-name musicians too, with Nelly and Sheryl Crow among those on the 2022 line-up.
Alfresco Twin Cities Veg Fest takes over Harriet Island Regional Park in Saint Paul for one Sunday each September, and the location alone – a gorgeous green space by the Mississippi River with views across to Minneapolis – makes it worth attending. There’s also some wonderful food on offer, with a mix of stalls and cooking demonstrations that all use plant-based ingredients.
Belzoni claims to be the "catfish capital of the world", and who are we to argue? The city takes the role seriously, with a museum celebrating the whiskered fish and a 40-foot (12m) tall sculpture known as King Cat. For one day each April, the city's catfish love steps up a gear for the World Catfish Festival. Delta blues musicians provide the soundtrack and other entertainment includes a Miss Catfish pageant.
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The Bluegrass & BBQ Festival takes over Silver Dollar City amusement park for the majority of May, bringing together two big American favourites. There’s every type of barbecue on offer, from brisket to slow-cooked ribs, along with hundreds of sauces to sample, and a toe-tapping soundtrack of bluegrass music performed by more than 50 bands from the state and further afield.
Huckleberries are only found in certain areas of the country, and Trout Creek is one of them. It hosts the three-day annual Huckleberry Festival, which started in 1980 and is held on the second weekend of August, and continues to focus on artisan produce featuring the berries, with plenty of jams, pies and other sweet treats to try. You can watch a pie-eating contest or see which dessert with huckleberry wins top prize.
You can be sure that pretty much everyone has been drinking the Kool-Aid at this festival, which takes place over an August weekend at Hastings’ Adams County Fairgrounds. The drink was first made here, so a festival dedicated to it isn’t as random as it might seem. There are many different flavours of the drink you can devour, as well as food dishes infused with it. Kool-Aid Days has entertainment including a parade of colourful floats, a fun run and competition to see who can consume the most Kool-Aid.
Launched in 2012, the fun Great American Foodie Fest showcases the best of Nevada’s food scene while also bringing in renowned chefs from around the US. The festival, which takes place in Henderson in April and Las Vegas in September each year, is a huge affair and celebrates some of the country’s top culinary talent from restaurateurs to food truck owners. Expect street food, fine-dining dishes, a beer garden, carnival rides and games, and an eating contest.
The early October Powder Keg Festival is an excuse to eat street food, drink lots of craft brews and have a good party. As a goodbye to summer and ushering in the autumn, the festival gives people the chance to sample around 200 beers, ciders and hard seltzers (fizzy water with a sizeable hit of alcohol) from around the state and beyond. There’s usually some chilli donated by local restaurants, although it’s recently been missing because of economic pressures and staff shortages due to COVID-19.
New Jersey’s shores are showcased in a different way at this seafood festival, which has been held as an end of summer gathering since 1975. People come to feast on seafood dishes, with restaurants and food trucks serving crab cakes, paella, lobster and prawn skewers. The location is in downtown Point Pleasant, which is right by the boardwalk. Local musicians provide the soundtrack.
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Five days at the end of September are dedicated to the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta, which brings together red and green New Mexico hatch chile peppers with red and white wines – possibly the odd rosé and fizz too. Wineries from around the US bring their vintages to pair with food prepared by chefs from local restaurants, with the dishes showcasing the potential and diversity of the chiles. There are film screenings, food and wine seminars, luxury meals and an epic grand tasting.
This fun foodie festival has become a finger-lickin' favourite since it started in 2002, inspired by a fictional festival with the same name in Bill Murray's movie Osmosis Jones. Held on Labor Day weekend in early September, The National Buffalo Wing Festival attracts people who want to celebrate the ubiquitous bar snack and, of course, eat lots of it. There are eating contests, innovative takes on classic wings with every dressing you could imagine, and live music.
Don’t expect to find Memphis-style ribs or saucy Kansas City barbecue at this annual October pig out. The one-day Barbecue Festival in Lexington is all about the legendary local style – the highlight of which is pork shoulder cooked long and slow, basted with a vinegar, salt and pepper sauce or "dip", and served chopped and doused with more sauce. People come for the meat, but there’s also a wine garden, live music and entertainment including pig racing.
Rib connoisseurs and cookers gather at Happy Harry’s Ribfest for a three-day feast each June, whether they’re competing to win the prize for best ribs or just fancy nibbling on some of the stickiest, tenderest and tastiest finger-lickin' food around. Aside from the stalls serving ribs, plus other meaty treats like brisket and burnt ends, there’s live music, games and even a Riblet Fest aimed at younger attendees.
The US has a rich heritage of Asian communities, and this festival celebrates them and their culinary traditions. Food is the primary focus at the two-day May festival, with vendors cooking up dishes and delicacies from a variety of countries including India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. It's also the place to learn about the heritage and culture of those countries with live music, family activities, talks and demonstrations.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when food trucks became so ubiquitous in the US, but they’re clearly here to stay. This fun festival in downtown Chickasha brings some of Oklahoma’s finest trucks together in an epic annual competition. The Oklahoma Food Truck Championship is held on one Saturday in October, with trucks competing for the top prize of being named the best, along with additional categories like most creative and fan favourite.
Proving Oregon has a rich culinary scene beyond the restaurants of Portland, Bounty of Yamhill County is one of the most beautiful festivals in the country. Nestled in the Willamette Valley, it's known for its wine (particularly Pinot Noir), and it’s just a short drive from Portland, yet a completely different scene. Sip wines and savour delicious foods with picnics, lazy lunches and wine-pairing dinners surrounded by vines. The event is held over an August weekend and has guided hikes and yoga on offer.
Who could resist a festival dedicated to pickles (gherkins)? Even if you’re not a vinegar fan, this fun event slices straight to the heart of Pittsburgh’s culinary scene. Based on the city’s rich history of pickles, Picklesburgh is held over a July weekend and sponsored by Kraft Heinz, whose giant dill pickle (pictured) is an icon of the festival. It’s a joyous event with live music, a pickle juice drinking contest, and the chance to sample pickles "naked" or in a variety of dishes.
Take 3,000lbs (1,361kg) of calamari, mix in thousands of people, and sprinkle in some music and a good dash of party spirit, and you have this unique festival. The Rhode Island Calamari Festival takes place on the first Saturday after Labor Day (in September) and is a enthusiastic celebration of the official state appetiser. The resort town of Narragansett is home to the second largest fishing fleet in New England.
Found on breakfast menus around the US, and particularly delicious when served with grilled prawns Louisiana-style, grits are synonymous with Southern cuisine. Made by boiling coarsely ground corn kernels with water or milk, they’re an acquired taste, but loved in the tiny South Carolina town of St George, where people honour them annually over an April weekend. The World Grits Festival has grits in every guise, plus parades, live music, a "rolling in the grits" contest and a race to husk the most corn (pictured).
South Dakota may not be as synonymous with potatoes as say Idaho, but the city of Clark is also surrounded by prolific tuber growers. Held over four days in August, the Potato Days festival makes the humble spud the star of the show with local residents and chefs bringing along their best efforts to compete for honours like best potato dish or best decorated potato. The entertainment includes movie screenings, a potato-themed parade and mashed potato wrestling.
Who better to host a fun celebration of food than singing sensation Dolly Parton? The icon’s Dollywood theme park hosts several festivals throughout the year, with the Harvest Festival a real highlight. It runs from late September to the end of October, and you can fill up on sweet and savoury treats, from maple pecan funnel cakes to pumpkin bisque. Listen to bands playing bluegrass, gospel and country music, and stay for the Great Pumpkin Luminights, which features thousands of glowing, carved pumpkins.
Texas’ capital of cool is the obvious location for this world-class smorgasbord of the best food and wine. Top chefs from the city and surrounding Texas Hill Country come here for three November days to share samples of dishes that made their careers, while wineries, breweries and distilleries are here to pour the drinks. The Austin Food + Wine Festival also has fire pits showcasing the best of Texas barbecue, a group grilling experience, and competition to see which chef can make the best taco.
This annual event highlights the restaurants and bars of Salt Lake City, with samples of their seasonal food and drink dished out across two days in September. Venues around the city also offer specials during the festival, while boutique wineries, local breweries and distilleries come together for tasting events. With all proceeds going to local non-profits, Eat Drink SLC is hugely popular and sells out fast – mainly because there’s so much delicious fare on offer.
Shelburne Farms is the venue for this celebration of cheese. Meandering back from the shoreline of Lake Champlain, the working farm and non-profit organisation brings together around 50 cheesemakers for the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival. People can try samples, eat cheesy dishes, sip wine and buy cheese to take home. The festival for this year has been postponed due to COVID-19 but it will return to normal in 2023 following a small, wholesalers-focused event in August 2022.
Lexington’s Main Street is transformed into a street party on the Sunday of July 4th weekend. Freedom Food Festival is a fundraising event that pairs local celebrity chefs and restaurants with non-profit organisations based in the city, each hosting a food tent with outdoor tables. Admission is free, with plenty of food and drink available to purchase from stalls, restaurants and bars along the street. People can also pre-purchase meal tickets and reserve tables.
Near Olympic National Park and Dungeness Spit, after which the famous Dungeness crab is named, this is one of the biggest seafood festivals in the country. Seafood doesn’t come much fresher than this, with the crab freshly caught in local waters and prepared to perfection in a variety of dishes. The scenic waterfront setting, along with live music, add to the festive atmosphere. Held on the second weekend in October, the festival is free to attend.
West Virginia has some niche food festivals, honouring produce from black walnuts to maple syrup. The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival is a real favourite, held on Labor Day weekend in Clarksburg. It celebrates the rich Italian heritage of the area and the food, with Italian-American cuisine and drinks. Expect pizza, pasta, fritti – which are deep-fried doughnuts (pictured) – and official state food, the pepperoni roll.
There ain’t no party like a poutine party. Cheese Curd Festival, held over a weekend in June, shines a spotlight on one of Wisconsin’s specialties in the most delicious way. Ellsworth dubs itself the "Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin" and the gathering celebrates its long heritage of cheesemaking, with a variety of dishes made with squeaky white curds – think cheese curd topped fries to cubes dusted in cinnamon sugar for a surprisingly sweet treat. There's also wine, beer, music and a cheese curd eating contest.
The culinary offerings of mountain resort Jackson Hole are celebrated with two annual gatherings: the Summer Festival in June and a Winter Fest in March. The summer weekend has a range of events including Taste of Jackson Hole – an upscale festival with signature dishes prepared by top chefs, paired with wines, beers and spirits, all served on the mountaintop. It’s a memorable experience.
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